Reading for pleasure might be in decline by 40% since the early 2000s, according to an iScience survey, but for 2025 worldwide bastion of hip, Time Out, has named a bookish district of Tokyo the “Coolest Neighbourhood in the World.”
“Bibliophile nirvana”
Jimbōchō district, in the heart of the Japanese capital, is also known as “Book Town,” thanks to its high concentration of bookshops, publishing houses, and bookbinders. The “bibliophile nirvana,” according to Time Out, is the “hangout of choice for generations of Tokyo intellectuals.” Specialists in rare tomes, volumes of art and photography, and foreign language titles sit among dozens of second-hand book dealers, as well as antique and curio emporia, and vintage-vibe cafés.
Despite the top accolade of cool going to what may sound like a dusty, retro haven, the Time Out editor says the judging criteria are based on a “sense of nowness” with nominated neighbourhoods ranked for their liveability and community credentials, their nightlife, their eateries, and bars. Thus, in Jimbōchō, as well as well-thumbed stories and beautiful endpages, there are 1950s curry houses, and music venues such as the jazz clubs frequented by international best-seller Haruki Murakami and his characters.
Elsewhere in East Asia, another Japanese district, Nakatsu, in Osaka, also featured in the top 10 at number eight, while Mullae-dong, in Seoul, South Korea, came sixth.
Europe dominates top 10
Europe also did well in the coolometer, taking four spots in the top 10. Belgian port city Antwerp and its Borgerhout district came second in the world, noted for its trendy foodie spots, art initiatives, street festivals buzzing with diversity and “grassroots creativity.”
London’s Camberwell placed fourth, hailed for what Time Out called its “young-at-heart vibe,” as well as its art spaces, indie spirit, and multiculturalism. France’s Ménilmontant in Paris, “once a village of vineyards and guinguettes,” is still eclectic and bucolic, the publication says. It comes seventh with its cobbled streets, “cheap beers, activist bookshops, and omnipresent street art,” as well as, bien sur, its gastronomy.
Going north to Helsinki, Finland, to find ninth-placed Vallila, Time Out praised its “romantic” yet “gritty charm,” made up of colourful, early twentieth-century wooden houses, “cute” bars and cafes, and industrial chic at its old train factory, where the late summer Konepaja Festival provides a “wild mix of music, street food and community-led events.”
- Jimbōchō, Tokyo, Japan
- Borgerhout, Antwerp, Belgium
- Barra Funda, São Paulo, Brazil
- Camberwell, London, United Kingdom
- Avondale, Chicago, United States
- Mullae-dong, Seoul, South Korea
- Ménilmontant, Paris, France
- Nakatsu, Osaka, Japan
- Vallila, Helsinki, Finland
- Labone, Accra, Ghana
From bungalows to “alternative soul”
Meanwhile, North America, South America, and Africa can claim one top 10 cool entry each. Chicago’s Avondale now hosts “artsy locals and bungalow-loving families” among its “historic Polish and Latino populations,” Time Out notes. But gentrification is not the only story. The “new wine bars, wellness studios and music venues” sit “alongside longtime neighbourhood fixtures,” which include brickworks and smokestacks, retro bowling alleys, markets and “eccentric boutiques.”
Barra Funda, Brazil, comes in a respectable third, lauded as the “alternative soul of São Paulo” for its DJs and nightclubs, industrial history, and must-visit art. And at the other end of the top 10, Labone, in Accra, Ghana, has gone from a “sleepy residential neighbourhood with not much more to offer than bungalows and mango trees” to an area rich in “happy-hour pubs, galleries, wine bars and high-end shops” as well as boasting brand-new design and architecture museum Limbo, in a “once-abandoned brutalist estate.”
